The Silent Struggle – Unpacking Mental Health Struggles in College Students
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Mental health related issues have swept across the nation at an alarming rate. 63% of students have reported to have feelings of overwhelming anxiety, and one in every five students have considered suicide.
One way or another, we have all felt these feeling to varying degrees at some point. However, we are clearly trending in the wrong direction when it comes to this issue. But what can be done? How do we stop this?
To learn a little but more about the causes of mental health issues for college students and how to combat them, I sat down with Ganine Marottolo. She is a social worker in the New Haven public school system who spent her undergraduate studies focusing on and studying anxiety in high school and college students. She recently graduated from Quinnipiac University with a degree in psychology and is currently continuing her education in a Master of Social Work program while she works.
I recently posted about the preproduction stage of this podcast – all of the planning and research it took to feel ready to record. This week, I recorded with Ganine in Quinnipiac’s state-of-the-art podcast studio and spent hours compiling the conversation into a short podcast.
I encourage you to take a listen to the podcast and get a better idea about how these conditions begin. We are all going to be responsible for reversing the mental health crisis in America, and Ganine’s advice and insight is a great place to start.
Readings
7 Secrets for Getting Pro-Sounding Vocals on Home Recordings
This article offers a few tips for achieving professional-quality audio from the comfort of your home. Even though for this project I recorded in the University’s Podcast Studio, these tips were still helpful to think about and understand prior to my session with Ganine.
The article talks a lot about setting the right atmosphere for podcast recording that is comfortable for you to work in for hours at a time. It advises finding a room where the audio is “dry” and not reverberating. This will be picked up by your microphone and will ruin the quality of your audio. You can also diminish this reverberation using blanks, curtains, pillows, and other soft things to soften the ambient noise.
There are a number of other pieces of advice including proper mic positioning, level settings, and using a pop filter to reduce harsh sounds. Recording multiple takes to capture the best performance, labeling each for easy reference, and keeping editing minimal to preserve the vocal’s natural quality will also ensure that you are getting the best results out of your home set up. Following these tips will allow for the need for less editing and manipulation to your audio in post.
Sound Advice: Editing Audio for Video
This article provides essential advice for editing audio in video production to ensure high-quality sound that complements visual storytelling. Although this week’s editing had no visuals because it was for a podcast, next week I will be diving into video production.
To summarize, capturing clean audio during filming is the most essential thing, as poor-quality sound is difficult to fix later. Using good microphones, positioning them correctly, and minimizing background noise are keys here. Additionally, the article discusses audio editing techniques, including noise reduction and equalization, to enhance clarity and consistency. Layering ambient sounds and adjusting volume levels can add depth and polish to the final mix, creating a more immersive viewer experience.
Research
Oppenheimer
When I think of amazing sound design in recent years, my brain always goes immediately to Oppenheimer. As a whole, this move does an amazing job using sound and music cues to create certain vibes that match the visuals on the scene. The visual contrast between black and white and color in the movie is also a great piece of storytelling, but we’ll focus on the audio for now.
The scene above is the first test of a nuclear bomb: Trinity. The first thing that is apparent is the score used at this point. It is intense and continues to ramp up as they get closer to the detonation. This in conjunction with the countdown over the radio builds such a high level of anticipation for when they final set off the bomb. Other sound effects and ambient noises are used to create a sense of place as they work in the scene.
Once the bomb goes off, the audio cuts out, signifying how deafening the sound of an atomic bomb is. All that can be heard is some minor rumbling and light breathing. This contrast to the sounds before give the viewer a sense of the weight that this new technology has and how it will be the catalyst for the rest of the scenes in the movie.
The Batman
honking, and the other sound effects give you a sense of the pace and setting of this scene. They help to illustrate how busy the highway is that the chase is happening on.
here is also some great storytelling when it comes to how vocal Penguin is during the scene versus Batman. Penguin is breathing heavily and yelling at people on the road. He also celebrates once he thinks he finally got Batman. However, we barely hear a sound come from Batman, showing the dark and mysterious – yet confident – nature of the character.
The auditorial queues of the score also help to create the timing in the scene. It tells the viewer when to feel anticipation and when to understand that action is going on. Specifically, the music stops during the final car crash to make the viewer think Penguin won, until it comes back in as Batman reappears. At this point, it’s obvious that Batman has won.
Top Gun: Maverick
I think this scene of Maverick performing the test flight from the new Top Gun is such a great example of sound design that doesn’t overdo it. When you watch this scene, you aren’t necessarily thinking about all of the sounds that are happening around you, yet they allow you to almost feel like you are in the plane with him.
Beyond just the sounds of the plane and the flight, Maverick’s breathing and reactions build anticipation in the viewer. It shows that what he is doing is not easy, but he does it.
Hi! My name is Peyton McKenzie.
I am a professional graphic designer, photographer and content creator.
I encourage you to explore my portfolio to get a better idea of the work I create. If you are interested in working with me or have inquiries of any kind, don’t hesitate to reach out over email.
